Kern: Unions are the real issue in recall drive

“Nobody on the council drove them to include the mobile-home park and the harbor,” Kern said, adding that when he learned of it, he wanted to terminate the consultant's contract.

Since taking office in 2006, Kern hasn't shied away from taking on some politically hot issues, such as backing a freeway interchange at Rancho del Oro Drive and state Route 78, and extending a northern reach of Melrose Drive to complete a connection between state Routes 76 and 78.

Kern, Feller and Chavez voted in favor of a proposal by Robertson's Ready Mix to build a concrete batch plant on Industry Street, arousing opposition in the nearby Loma Alta Creek and Fire Mountain neighborhoods.

The group Friends of Loma Alta Creek sued the city and the developer to force an environmental impact report on the plans for the plant. The company settled the lawsuit out of court and opted not to build.

Kern defends his vote on the concrete plant, saying that Industry Street is zoned for heavy industry and that the plant would have been enclosed, minimizing any effect on nearby Loma Alta Creek.

“The environmental stuff was a trumped-up charge,” Kern said. “It would have been the most modern concrete plant in the state of California.”

Mayor Wood said he has stood on the sidelines during the recall drive, but Kern is vulnerable because of his political positions.

“The three (Kern, Feller and Chavez) don't seem to listen to the public and what they want,” said Wood, who defeated Chavez in a mayoral election last year to win his second term.

“This group wants development to the point of wanting . . . concrete companies,” Wood said. He said Oceanside voters may be largely conservative, “but most of the people here are environmentally sensitive.”

Kern said the core issue remains his stand against unions.

Firefighters became angry when Kern and Chavez met with fire officials early in Kern's term to discuss possibly privatizing the city's ambulance service.

Kern said he dropped the idea when the fire chief told him such a plan could jeopardize a practice whereby Oceanside, Vista and Carlsbad firefighters cross city boundaries to respond to emergencies. But the criticism has not faded.

The union's anger boiled over last month when Kern, Feller and Chavez voted down a firefighters union offer to reduce pay and benefits by more than $400,000 to save three jobs slated for elimination through budget cuts.

“I'm extremely disappointed, because every opportunity a council member gets, they try to explain to the public how they support public safety. . . . We give them an opportunity to show they support it, and they turn their back on us,” union President Greg deAvila, a fire department captain, said after the vote.

Kern said that vote had nothing to do with the firefighters union, but with balancing a city budget that continues to shrink.

“If I lose (in a recall), . . . you'll have a union-dominated council in tough economic times, which is not good for the city or the citizens,” Kern said.